Jason Reso AKA Christian won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in a great ladder match against Alberto del Rio last Sunday to complete a lifelong dream after almost 20 years in the industry. Two days later, he lost the belt to Randy Orton.
Christian wasn’t your prototypical champion. He’s not a big guy and although he has a loyal following, it’s nothing compared to John Cena’s or Orton’s. However, you can’t say that Captain Charisma didn’t deserve to win. He worked his way up from a pseudo-vampire character to a quality wrestler who performed well in any role. Christian will never be mistaken for the Rock but he’s always likable, entertaining, and looks great fighting in a main event or against the Brooklyn Brawler.
But Christian doesn’t put the asses in the seats. The show after his title win had the lowest TV ratings of the year. That’s why it was surprising that he won the title in the first place. Christian seemed like a lock to be a first-ballot inductee in the Roddy Piper Hall of Fame for popular wrestlers that had never won a championship.
Short title reigns accomplish nearly no purpose. In this case, it facilitated the transfer of the title between two stars, from the retired Edge to Orton. The difference between this shift and others, such as Bob Backlund’s short reign in 1994, was that Christian was such a feel-good story in itself. He wasn’t a has-been or some loser. Fans were legitimately happy that he held the strap after his best friend Edge had to surrender it due to injuries.
On his first and only Tuesday as champion, Christian came out and give a heartfelt speech about how great it felt and even seemed on the verge of tears. It was a really nice moment. Then he was interrupted by Mark Henry and the Great Khali. The first challengers to his title were so underwhelming, it was insulting. Only when Randy Orton made an appearance and was given a shot at the belt did it seem like Christian was being given his props.
They fought their way through a really good match for a TV taping, but when it was all said and done, Orton left with the prize and Christian was emptyhanded. Maybe it was his one shot at being a champion and he accepted despite the fact that it would be so short. He could never have a dominant reign, but I saw him as a champ that would keep his belt by working out gritty victories. There’s never really been a guy at the top like that. It would have been interesting. Instead the Christian era was almost as short as one of his patented five-second poses.
The real injustice isn’t that Christian wasn’t given more of a chance, but that a opportunity to enhance and differentiate the storyline surrounding the World Heavyweight Championship was lost. Some say that this may only the beginning of an Orton-Christian feud and we should wait to see what happens. But since when does the hero get the girl and lose her a couple days later? Christian and the peeps deserved better.
Rainman Suite 